Most people recognize that it is impossible to make rational political decisions in complex societies like ours without relying extensively on expert advice and even expert decisions. Different kinds of expertise are seen as essential for addressing complex problems, managing high-pace technological change and regulating risk-prone activities. The regulatory state has thus delegated powers to specialized agencies, staffed by purportedly neutral experts, partly based on the argument that they can carry out policies with a level of efficiency and effectiveness that politicians cannot match, Holst and Gornitzka explain.
The special issue addresses how the European Commission and EU agencies organise their use of expertise. This organisation is important for the performance and interaction of experts, as well as for policy outcomes and democratic legitimacy.
The special issue includes 14 articles on various aspects of the expert-executive nexus in the EU. All are available free of charge in Politics and Governance, an internationally peer-reviewed open access journal. The issue now edited by the ARENA scholars is the journal's first special issue.